Towards A King: Eli and Schmuel
5th Judge
Should Schmuel be regarded merely as the last of the Shophtim or did he have a new and more positive function? It is not easy to decide, for two distinct traditions have been woven together by the author of the First Book of Schmuel. One of these traditions depicts Schmuel as a prophet who attempted to solve the national and spiritual problem: he realized that Yisrael could only be saved by uniting the Twelve Tribes under a single head. In this view he served as the thread of gold linking the anarchic period of the Shophtim with the strongly organized and unifying epoch of the kings. He was therefore the founder of the monarchy, for although in some respects he did not favour that institution, he did in fact anoint the first two kings of Yisrael.
Schmuel was a kohen (but not a Levite) of Shiloh, the place where the Ark of the Alliance was kept. So it is to Shiloh that we must turn for the beginning of the events which follow.
Shiloh: Yisrael's Principal Tabernacle
At the end of the period of the Shophtim (about 1040) the Twelve Tribes were far from occupying the whole of the Promised Land, as the Yisraelites of the time of Mosheh, on coming from Sinai might well have hoped to do. In fact the various tribes of Yisrael were divided into four main groups separated from each other by alien communities (map).
In the mountainous central region, Ephraim and Benjamin were established, flanked on the north by Manasseh and Issachar, and on the west by Dan.
In the north, were Zebulun, Asher and Naphtali, separated from the tribes in the centre by the plain of Jezreel, inhabited by Canaanites and Zekals (Peoples of the Sea).
In the south, to the west of the Dead Sea, Yahudah and Simeon had great difficulty in keeping in touch with the other tribes, owing to the strong barrier formed by the Jebusites (Canaanites) with their citadel of Urushalim (Yerusalem).
Finally, on the left bank of the Yarden, two tribes (or rather, two tribes and a half) stayed in TransYardenia: Reuben, on the east of the Dead Sea; Gad, in the Jabbok region; and half of the important tribe of Manasseh which dwelt on both banks of the river.
These Twelve Tribes, so dangerously isolated, had so far failed to restrain the petty ambitions of their leaders, their jealous antagonisms, or the obstinate selfishness of the great families. However, the work done by the Shophtim, though spasmodic and disorganized must not be regarded as completely useless. The unity of the twelve tribes was brought about not by the danger from the Canaanites but by that from the Philistines.
At this time the Ark was kept in the little village of Shiloh on the heights of Ephraim between Bethel and Shechem, midway, therefore between the tribes of the north and those of the south. In the period immediately following the entry of the Hebrews into the Promised Land, Yahshua Ben Nun had installed the Ark in this place, which thus became Yisrael's central, and indeed its only tabernacle. When Schmuel began his career, the Ark was no longer within the enclosure of a mere tent; a kind of tabernacle (hekal) no doubt of simple structure had been built around it. It was here, on feast days, that the tribes assembled in order to seek YAHWEH's face, to renew their oath of fidelity to him, and also of course to settle matters of policy. Whatever its concerns, the Yahwist confederation had never forgotten Shiloh; it remained the centre and the symbol of the whole of Yisrael. But it is chiefly after Samson, with Eli and Schmuel, that the dynamic and constructive action of this spiritual capital in Yisrael's history can be observed.
Eli, The High Kohen, The Custodian Of The Ark In Shiloh
The tabernacle of Shiloh was served by a body of kohens with a high kohen at their head whose position seems to have been hereditary. At this time the office was held by Eli. He had two sons who took an active part in the worship: Hophni (in Egyptian: 'Little fish', or 'frog') and Phinehas (the Dark Skinned, the Nubian); they were far from praiseworthy, and their conduct was a source of scandal to YAHWEH's worshippers.
One day a woman named Hannah came on pilgrimage. Her husband was Elkanah, an Ephraimite. She was much distressed because she had long been barren, and she besought YAHWEH constantly to grant her a child. In the end, she made a vow that if her prayer was heard she would give her son to YAHWEH as a nazir, thus consecrating him to the service of the tabernacle. In due course, Hannah had a child whom she named Schmuel (Schmu'EI: heard by ALMIGHTY). Some years later we find him at Shiloh with Eli: there the boy went on growing in stature and in favour both with YAHWEH and with men (1 Schmuel 2: 26).
Eli was a saintly man; but with age he had grown feeble and blind. He was quite aware of his sons' behavior: they openly disregarded the rules of worship and treated the pilgrims to Shiloh with contempt. The aged kohen behaved very weakly towards his sons, but fortunately he had the young Schmuel with him, and the lad's earnest devotion filled the visitors to the tabernacle with admiration.
As high kohen and custodian of the Ark, Eli had attracted an active group of the best men in Yisrael, those who placed their hopes in YAHWEH and in him alone. And scattered among the tribes many persons revered the two servants of YAHWEH, Eli, almost a centenarian, and Schmuel the youthful nazir, so unlike in appearance, so similar in their spiritual stature.
Moreover, in a series of revelations, YAHWEH seemed to have chosen Schmuel as his prophet his spokesman, the one commissioned to transmit his message to his people, and, at times, even to reveal the future.
Hope revived in Yisrael: the military ambition prevalent under the Shophtim began to change to faith in YAHWEH, who alone could shoulder the human burden and so liberate the tribes and secure the effective possession of the Promised Land.
A National Catastrophe: The Ark Captured By The Philistines
The Philistines were growing steadily bolder, and untiringly pursued their policy of methodical occupation of the whole land. At Aphek, where the Jaffa river rises, Yisrael engaged this formidable enemy in battle; the Yisraelites were defeated and put to flight leaving great numbers of dead on the field.
Revenge was imperative; this time the Yisraelites were determined that everything should be in their favour. They decided to have the Ark with them in the midst of their troops. YAHWEH among his people could not fail to secure victory. After all, in the days of Mosheh and Yahshua Ben Nun, it was under this divine protection that the Yisraelite armies had marched.
Accordingly, the Ark was fetched from its tabernacle in Shiloh. Hophni and Phinehas, Eli's two sons, themselves carried the Ark of YAHWEH Sabaoth, he who is seated on the cherubs. As soon as it reached the Hebrew camp, a great welcoming shout went up, the famous terua'ah, that was both a war cry and a spiritual acclamation. The Philistines, roused by this clamor, and warned probably by their spies, were alarmed by this new factor that threatened the outcome of the conflict. Their YAHWEH,' they said, 'has come to the camp. HE is powerful; who will save us from HIM?' But the Philistines were brave, and besides they had their own gods to protect them. They seemed decided to fight mercilessly and to give no quarter.
For Yisrael this was one of the darkest days of its history; they were outwitted; the enemy thronged around them and slaughtered them, and as the climax of misfortune, the Ark was captured by the 'uncircumcised' who took the trophy to Ashdod and put it in the temple of their god Dagon.
At Shiloh, Eli, old and blind, had been placed on his seat beside the gate of the tabernacle, anxiously awaiting the messenger from the battlefield. The leaders of Yisrael had dispatched a Binyaminite, and as was the custom with the bearers of bad news, his clothes were torn and dust was on his head. As he raced along the streets the people quickly guessed what he had to say, and cries filled the town. The clamor disturbed Eli, but he soon realized its meaning. The messenger reached him and said breathlessly: 'I have come from the camp ...Yisrael has fled before the Philistines; the army has been utterly routed. What is worse, your two sons are dead and the Ark of YAHWEH has been captured'. When he mentioned the Ark of YAHWEH, Eli fell backward off his seat by the gate; his neck was broken and he died, for he was (ninety-eight years) old and heavy.
The Philistines were filled with joy; the Yisraelites had been defeated and their ALMIGHTY was a 'captive' in Ashdod. But it was a short-lived triumph; an epidemic (difficult to define) broke out in the city in which the Ark had been deposited. It was decided to remove it to Gath, another of the Five Cities, but the same scourge broke out there also. Its inhabitants speedily rid themselves of this frightening trophy and it was removed to Ekron, another capital of the Philistine confederation. The people here protested forcibly against the unwelcome guest, for as soon as it arrived they were afflicted with a grave and mysterious sickness. In the end, the priests of Dagon felt that the best solution was to return this Ark, of such alarming power, to Yisrael. In addition, in order to appease the wrath of YAHWEH of the Hebrews, golden objects symbolizing the disease that had struck the cities were sent with it. The chiefs of the Philistines, probably ashamed of this adventure, took this protector of Yisrael back to its rightful owners on a cart drawn by two milk cows. It had been held captive for seven months.
The restitution was effected at Beth-shemesh on the frontier. The farmers there were reaping the corn in the plain. Summoned in haste, the Levites took the Ark from the cart, and at once prepared a sacrifice of thanksgiving. The cows that had drawn the cart were killed and burnt as a holocaust, and the cart was cut up as firewood.
The Ark was not taken back to Shiloh; in fact that city and its tabernacle had probably been destroyed in the recent campaign (YermeYah 7: 12-14). Instead, it was set up in Beth-shemesh, and soon afterwards, for reasons difficult to determine, it was taken to Kiriathjearim (now Tel el-Azhar, west of Yerusalem). There it was placed in the house of Abinadab whose son Eleazar (though not a Levite) was appointed its guardian. It remained there until David came to take it, with great pomp, to Yerusalem. (This curious ceremony is described in a later chapter of this book.)
THE WANDERINGS OF THE ARK OF THE COVENANT
It was kept in the Yisraelite tabernacle of Shiloh. Before the battle of Aphek, which the Yisraelites fought against the Philistines, the Ark was carried on to the battle-field. The Yisraelites were defeated and the Philistines captured the Ark.
The Ark of the Covenant was held by the Philistines: At Ashdod (in the temple of Dagon); at Gath; then at Ekron. The terrible epidemics which occurred in the cities where the Ark was, finally caused the Philistines to return it to the Yisraelites. Its captivity lasted seven months. Returned to the Yisraelites at Beth-shemesh, it was taken by the Levites to Kiriath-jearim. It was here that David was to come one day to fetch it (in about 1000 B.C.) to take it to Yerusalem, the new capital of his kingdom.
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